1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to safety restraint systems and, more specifically, to an illuminated safety restraint system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional safety restraint systems known in the art typically include a safety belt assembly allocated for every seating position in a vehicle. The safety belt assembly secures a respective occupant of the seating position and prevents harmful movement that may otherwise occur due to a sudden change in vehicle speed, such as in a vehicle collision. The safety belt assembly typically includes a buckle assembly and a clip configured to releasably couple to one another such that the occupant can be selectively secured (“buckled”) in the seating position and subsequently released (“un-buckled”) when desired, such as when preparing to exit the vehicle. To that end, the buckle assembly typically includes a receiver that engages and secures to the clip, and a button that releases the clip from the receiver. The safety belt assembly also typically includes one or more belts secured to the vehicle as well as to the buckle assembly and/or the clip. The belt is adjustable in length so as to accommodate differently sized occupants. To that end, the safety belt assembly may include a spring-loaded reel to store and provide excess belt length as required.
The buckle assembly may be positioned and secured to the vehicle in different ways, depending on the vehicle application and the configuration of the seating position. The current trend in the art is a “three-point” or “shoulder belt” arrangement, where the buckle assembly is secured directly to a portion of the vehicle, such as on one side of a seat. The belt is “looped” and secured to another portion of the vehicle, such as on another side of the seat. In this arrangement, the clip is slidably secured to the belt “loop” which, in turn, is slidably “hung” by a hanger that is operatively attached to yet another portion of the vehicle, such as an elevated structural pillar. Thus, when the clip is coupled to the buckle assembly, the belt spans between both sides of the seat (over the occupant's lap) as well as between the clip and elevated hanger (across the occupant's shoulder).
Each of the components of safety restraint system of the type described above must cooperate to effect consistently releasable and safe restraint of the vehicle occupant. In addition, each of the components must be designed not only to facilitate improved usability, but also so as to reduce the cost and complexity of manufacturing and assembling safety restraint systems and associated components. While safety restraint systems known in the related art have generally performed well for their intended purpose, there remains a need in the art for a safety restraint system that has superior operational characteristics, and, at the same time, reduces the cost and complexity of manufacturing the components of the system.